Friday, December 21, 2012

Myrtle Beach parenting expert reflects on parenting in the age of violence

Media, as in news shows and newspapers, are spending time and space reporting tragic crimes and seemingly insurmountable problems from down the street to the other side of the world. We cannot even venture a guess on how much fear and hopelessness this implants in our children and adults. What impact does this have on the choices children make? Preachers from the pulpits talk about forgiveness and understanding, then ignore or belittle some children they encounter, or they preach tolerance and inclusion but don’t live it. Religious leaders are actually being sentenced to jail for crimes against their own people, even children, and others are making claims that make them appear foolish and silly. Adults brag about getting away with unpaid taxes, or being undercharged by a store and not pointing it out, or putting people down with hate language that would make the devil blush. There are people who model that the way to solve problems is to duke it out or sling more mud. There are adults who are negative about school and teachers, or who talk about how important school is yet never find the time to be involved in their child’s education process or any activities at the school. There are those who bad-mouth work, supervisors, and people who are different, and there are those who are just bad examples of getting along with all decent and lawful people. There are government officials who lie, who philander, who act in most immature ways as they conduct the business of a country or community and who show and receive little respect. Politicians talk a lot about the plight of the poor and what a valuable resource our children are, but there are still areas of our country that are deplorably impoverished and our children are still looked upon as just problems that need to be summarily handled, controlled. Some businesses tend to squash working folks by keeping wages low, working people unreasonably long hours, and offering no medical help or any other benefits. These are circumstances that can lead to despair and criminal behavior.

Comments

Media, as in news shows and newspapers, are spending time and space reporting tragic crimes and seemingly insurmountable problems from down the street to the other side of the world. We cannot even venture a guess on how much fear and hopelessness this implants in our children and adults. What impact does this have on the choices children make? Preachers from the pulpits talk about forgiveness and understanding, then ignore or belittle some children they encounter, or they preach tolerance and inclusion but don’t live it. Religious leaders are actually being sentenced to jail for crimes against their own people, even children, and others are making claims that make them appear foolish and silly. Adults brag about getting away with unpaid taxes, or being undercharged by a store and not pointing it out, or putting people down with hate language that would make the devil blush. There are people who model that the way to solve problems is to duke it out or sling more mud. There are adults who are negative about school and teachers, or who talk about how important school is yet never find the time to be involved in their child’s education process or any activities at the school. There are those who bad-mouth work, supervisors, and people who are different, and there are those who are just bad examples of getting along with all decent and lawful people. There are government officials who lie, who philander, who act in most immature ways as they conduct the business of a country or community and who show and receive little respect. Politicians talk a lot about the plight of the poor and what a valuable resource our children are, but there are still areas of our country that are deplorably impoverished and our children are still looked upon as just problems that need to be summarily handled, controlled. Some businesses tend to squash working folks by keeping wages low, working people unreasonably long hours, and offering no medical help or any other benefits. These are circumstances that can lead to despair and criminal behavior.